Love in a Different World AU
by marialovesturkey
Summary: Richard and Kahlan meet, but in a very different world under very different circumstances.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hi! So this is my first fic ever (I heard that I wasn't supposed to announce that, but... eh.) This story came from a weird dream. I'm pretty sure someone slipped something into my juice that night. Lol. but not. Any feedback would be great! I definitely want to improve on this story and hopefully continue it. I've already finished Chapter 2 and am waiting for my beta, so if you have any suggestions, let me know! Thanks for reading :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of the Seeker nor do I profit from this in any way. **

It was starting to rain. Kahlan first noticed the soft pattering of water droplets on her helmet as she sped down 12th Avenue on her blue Vespa. Within five minutes, those gentle drops of rain became harsh bullets deflecting off her bare and frigid skin. Sneaking a furtive glance in her left side mirror, she saw the black Towncar darting in and out of traffic just as fast as her motorcycle did. Kahlan knew they would catch up to her soon. The only way to possibly shake them off her tail would be to continue the chase on foot. She knew every alleyway, every shortcut, and every building in Manhattan. After all, this was her city.

"Hey bartender! Can I get two Heinekens?"

Richard looked up from pouring a peach martini to acknowledge the new order. It was a busy night at Westie's. He fluidly slid the glass across the counter and turned around for the beers. With a quick flip of his hand, he threw the bottles behind his back, snatched the bottle opener off the wall, spun around, and caught both drinks in one hand. Richard grinned knowingly when two middle-aged females whistled and hooted while he cracked off the caps.

That's when he saw her. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Long, raven colored hair reached all the way to her waist. Eyes so blue he could almost see the sky in them. Freckles dotting her face and arms could be spotted across the bar. Her face was not only physically attractive, but had a sense of wisdom and understanding that only experience and hardships would provide. Countless international fashion models and famous actresses came into his brother's bar, yet none compared with this woman. They were just lowly lightning bugs, and she was the glorious moon shining over them. She looked more elegant in her drenched white summer dress than all the movie stars he'd seen in designer evening gowns that stopped by for a drink after premieres. Even with her dark hair plastered to her head and eyeliner smudging around her eyes, she looked stunning.

An annoyed voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Buddy! Come on, what does it take for someone to get a drink around here? I've been waiting forever!"

"Sorry sir, I'll be right with you. Your drink's on its way," Richard sincerely apologized. He regretfully tore his eyes from the woman and went to make the order. She was just so- _SMASH! _He looked down and saw a broken bottle of vodka at his 'd never dropped a drink before. Ever. He clumsily apologized again and quickly made another drink. The night was slowing down and there didn't seem to be any orders coming in, so he turned his attention back to the woman. She was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Worried that the woman might have left, his experienced eyes flitted around in attempt to catch a glimpse of black and white. Richard breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her near the dance floor. But something was wrong. She was scared. He scanned the perimeter for danger, and immediately noticed four large men wearing dark, tailored Armani suits briskly surrounding her. A sense of danger and superiority made them seem completely out of place. After working at bar for two years, he could sense trouble a mile away. And trouble was here. This definitely wasn't going to be just a little playground tussle.

Richard gracefully hopped over the bar and navigated between the crowds to get to her. He didn't know whether to be glad for an excuse to approach her or concerned for her safety. Straightening his shoulders, he quickly closed the distance between himself and the woman.

"Excuse me? Miss? Is everything all right?"

When her eyes met his, it took all of Richard's strength to stay upright. In that single silent exchange, he understood her fear and saw her reluctant plea for help. Her stony, emotionless face proved she was a woman who could defend herself and probably had done so on countless occasions, but it was obvious the fight was still unevenly matched. Before she could reply, a gruff voice behind him answered for her. It was one of the men who were chasing her. From his size and appearance, he seemed to be the leader of the group. The way the crowd stepped back, clearing a wide berth around the small group, made this man seem like force to be reckoned with.

"Son, this ain't your problem. This young lady here just needs to come with us and have a little chat. If y'all cooperate, ain't nobody gonna get hurt. I don't wanna to fight ya, and I know ya don't wanna to fight all of us, so back off."

It was then that Richard noticed the other men slowly cornering him and the woman against a wall. He protectively placed himself between her and the others.

"You're right, I don't want to fight you. But this lady here? I don't think she wants to be bothered," Richard responded coolly.

"Boy, this ain't none of your business, If you only knew-"

"As long as you're in this establishment, anything that goes on here is my business. If you gentlemen don't leave right now, I'm going to have to ask security to escort you out," Richard said with a nod over to the front door. Chase, the bouncer, a giant of a man, was carefully watching the proceedings. He muttered something incomprehensible into his walkie-talkie, and five equally large security guards came into the room from the back door.

Glaring menacingly at his surroundings, the man completely ignored the possibility of violent confrontation and made a grab for the woman. Richard sensed the movement and blocked. He heard a crack behind him, and turned around to see one of the intruders with a bloody nose. The strange woman dispatched the attacker quickly with a shot to his lower extremities and immediately transitioned to a roundhouse kick as she faced off another. Richard felt a blow to his left side and silently cursed himself for losing focus. Turning back around, knuckles connected with his cheekbone and a sudden force struck him in the chest and propelled him into the air. Richard felt hard wood give way beneath his descending body as he crashed through one of the tables. While getting up from the wreckage, he saw Chase and the other employees restraining three of the attackers, while the fourth one looked to be unconscious on the floor. In his hand was a small blade. With blood on it. None of the bouncers or customers seemed injured, and he didn't feel any cuts on his own body. His eyes slowly followed the trail of crimson liquid. It was the woman. Fresh blood was still dripping out of a nasty gash on the inside of her right arm. Richard hurried over to her.

"Your arm is bleeding."

"So is your face," she answered with a smirk as she ripped off a strip of fabric from the bottom of her dress and tied the wound.

Before Richard could say anything, Chase called him over.

"I'm going to take these assholes to Michael's office and see what their deal is. Make sure the girl doesn't go anywhere. Go to your father's place and get cleaned up. I'll come by later to get you guys."

Richard nodded in agreement, but when he went back to the scene, she was gone. Again.

**Soo…. What do you guys think? I'm trying to follow the episodes and main plotline as closely as possible, but alternate universe is kind of hard. Who knew eh? Thanks again for all the comments and support! **

(also, this was beta'd by my friend Katie)


	3. Chapter 3

As Kahlan crossed the street, she struggled to keep steady pressure on her arm. That piece of her dress she ripped off just a few minutes ago was now completely soaked and useless. She would definitely have to find a safe shelter for the night soon. No matter how much she wanted to run, Kahlan couldn't afford attracting unwanted attention.

"Hey!" a familiar voice yelled from half a block behind her. It was _that guy_ again. The one that was too nosy for his own good. She quickened her pace and took a sharp right at the intersection.

"Hey!" The voice was a lot closer now. Kahlan thought about running, but the next crosslight had just turned red. She probably couldn't shake him off her tail anyway. Spotting a small flower boutique with a green, welcoming awning, she ducked under to wait for him.

"Kahlan prepared her glare. Despite how grateful she was, she needed to tell him straight that she didn't want him getting involved. However, as the guy turned the corner, her eyes softened just a little. The punch one of the pursuers gave him when he protected her caused a light ring to form around his eye and there was a cut on hi cheek, but otherwise his face was unusually attractive. And it wasn't just his face either. His clothes were soaked and clung to his chest leaving Kahlan with little to imagine. His muscles were tight and his body was well built, but now was not the time to admire a strange man'

"What?" Kahlan demanded.

The guy looked pretty confused, but seemed to quickly regain his composure.

"You were supposed to stay. Those men? We might, um, need a police statement or something. I'm no cop, but I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to just flee the scene of a crime."

"Look, sorry for your trouble, but if you haven't noticed, someone really wants to get me, so I kind of have to go. Right now."

The guy still had that puzzled look on his face. Kahlan knew that he couldn't possibly imagine the trouble she was in, but slowly, despite his confusion, he seemed to accept her explanation, or lack there of.

"Okay. But you're not going to get very far with that arm. Pretty soon, you're gonna bleed out. And the rain's not letting up until tomorrow morning. At least come with me 'til the weather clears. I can dress your wound properly and find you some dry clothes."

Kahlan pondered his suggestion. This guy was…unbelievable. First, he chivalrously defends her honor against strangers much bigger than him at a bar, and then he follows her to check up on her well being? Kahlan always knew when people lied, but despite her suspicions, all she could sense was sincerity. He was like a harmless puppy. And he did totally save her ass. Without him, she would be dead meat by now. The least she could do was go with him. Right?

"Well…okay," she replied.

"Really?" The guy looked surprised. "Let's go that way then," he said as he pointed to the right.

"And by the way, I'm Richard. Richard Cypher." He smiled. Even through his black eye and swollen face, his smile shined like the sun. Her heart thumped just a little bit faster.

She returned his smile with genuine gratitude.

"I'm Kahlan…and thanks."

Sorry for posting this so late, but I had bronchitis…it was awesome. Lemme know what you think! And thanks to my beta, Annie! She was very helpful in this process.


	4. Chapter 4

The world brightened. For a moment, Richard thought the skies had cleared. But it was Kahlan. She smiled. He felt warm despite the soaked cold shirt clinging to his skin. Kahlan. So that was her name.

"Hey…which way are we going?" she looked at him quizzically.

He quickly closed his mouth, which he didn't realize was opened.

"Oh. Right. It's past that bus stop. Just two blocks." He guided her elbow with his hand, desperate for a reason to touch her.

Michael was filling out tax forms when he heard a knock on his office door.

"Come in."

Chase poked his head through the crack.

"I've got the leader of those guys that were making trouble here. He says he wants to talk to you before you call the cops. Wanna see him?" 

"Yeah, bring him in," Michael replied as he rubbed the strain out of his eyes. This was going to be a long night. Not only was he missing his most profitable bartender, but he had a gut feeling this was going to be a troublesome meeting.

A large imposing man was shoved in the chair on the other side of his desk. If this guy wasn't in here for wrecking the place, Michael would've definitely been interviewing him for security.

"Hello. My name is Michael Cypher. Would you like to tell me exactly why you decided to wreck _my_ bar before I decide to get the police involved?"

"I am Ranssyn Fane. I know that this is a tricky situation for you, but any situation that I convey tonight must not be released to the public. I'm the leader of a private espionage team for Rahl Corporations. Mr. Rahl, as you probably know, is the current runner of the D'Haran Party for the presidential bid. We have the approval of the United States government to pursue and capture a dangerous fugitive that stole something very valuable from our employer. Here is my identification badge," he said as he handed a mid-sized envelope to Michael.

"Also in there is a personal letter from the Director of the CIA granting us permission for this mission. Our chase was almost to an end tonight before your bartender stepped in."

"Wait. A dangerous fugitive?" A look of concern spread over Michael's face.

"Where is she? And the bartender?" His voice cracked a little as he spoke the last sentence.

Fane read his emotions like an open book. These two men obviously shared a much more personal relationship than employer and employee.

"Are you close with this bartender?"

"Yes. He's my brother. Chase! Where's Richard right now?"

"He went with the girl, sir. They headed over to Zedd's place together."

"All right. Go with Mr. Fayne and his men and see if you can catch up. Listen to him as if he were me okay? This is important." He redirected his words to Fane.

"I'm sorry about this. My brother tends to attract all kinds of trouble, but I'm afraid he's way over his head this time. My men will assist you in any way you need to compensate for lost time. And by the way, what did this woman steal?"

"A very old valuable book," Fane replied. There was a dark gleam in his eye that Michael didn't catch. This was turning out a better than he thought it would.


End file.
